The Hagans in service on the NE Dundas Tramway.
It was this spreading of the rails issue that lead the railway operators to investigate further articulation possibilities for further locos. The lone Hagans locomotive had performed well, but traffic was increasing and more locos of similar tractive effort were required.
Garrett experts may be able to confirm the order of proceedings as to how the Garrett locomotive came to be designed. Whether the design existed, but had not been used prior to the Tasmanian order, or whether the Garretts of the Dundas were purpose designed for the line, and opened up the whole world to the Garrett concept, I don't know. But what we do know is that two 0-4-0+0-4-0 of a completely new articulated design were built by Beyer Peacock of Manchester UK, in late 1909. The concept behind the design was for the ultimate flexible loco, of high tractive effort, and spread axle loading. The Garretts would be named K1 and K2 upon delivery. The two locomotives were assembled in the Zeehan workshops in 1910. The locomotives performed well and have always been regarded as a great design. Being the very first of the type, there were issues with the K class that Beyer Peacock rectified on later designs. Namely the cylinders faced inward on the K, keeping the cylinders close to the boiler and steam lines shorter. Crews complained about the heat coming up through the cab floor from the cylinders directly below. On later Garrett designs the cylinders were outward facing. Additionally the K Garretts were a compound locomotive, with high pressure cylinders on the rear chassis, and low pressure on the forward chassis. This design aimed at steam conservation for the 195PSI boiler. Typical Garrett designs that followed were simple expansion designs. Many references report the Tasmanian K class as being the only Compound Garretts ever built, but others in the UK (thanks Ralph) state that there was at least one other compound Garrett built. The Garretts had a tractive effort of 17,900lb, or about that of a C-18 2-8-0 on the D&RGW. They were an effecient little locomotive, and while not as powerful as the Hagans, the two Garretts and Hagan worked together to move heavy loads over such an impossible railway. It would be doubtful that anything like the loads on this 2ft line were ever encountered on other roads so narrow. As the line was closed in the 1930s, both Garretts were put into storage at Zeehan.
The K1 Garrett in service on the NE Dundas Tramway.